18. If They Could See Us Now - What? THE Worst special? It's actually one of my favorites! I know OFAH fans like to dump on the three that came after what was believed to be the perfect ending, the 1996 trilogy, but this was still a very funny episode. They're right about the classic Del moment of tricking Rodney. Just the very idea that OF COURSE Del would lose their millions is funny, as is their going to the wrong funeral for Uncle Albert. This should be top 10. Bad job here, Telegraph!
17. Strangers on the Shore - not great, but still not the worst of the bunch. And has a classic scene, with "Gary". They're correct in how terrible young Damien is depicted, though. And I'm starting to wonder if there's a pattern here...
16. Sleepless in Peckham - bingo. As I said, looks like whoever put this together just wants to shit on the final three episodes. It's not a good episode, but still not the worst, saved if only by the incredible ending scene, after Rodney had finally discovered the criminal Freddie the Frog was his real father.
Del: (when Rodney asks if he's anything like his father, Freddie the Frog) Freddie the Frog was a professional burglar. He was disloyal to his friends. He was a womaniser, a home-breaker, a con-man, a thief, a liar, and a cheat... So no Rodney, you're nothing like him.15. A Royal Flush - now this was a gruesome episode to watch. John Sullivan's least favorite, as it pushes Del TOO far as an asshole. Not sure i it's my least favorite yet, but definitely worse that the three below it. Though watching Del Boy skeet shoot with a pump-action shotgun is great.
14. Miami Twice - a two-parter, I never really cared for this one. It's better than A Royal Flush, but not as good as the 2001-2003 final run. A Single joke stretched out for two hours, without even one iconic scene that stands out. It's even less funny than A Royal Flush, but just not as badly made.
13. Christmas Crackers - one of the few (or only?) Christmas specials to actually have anything to do with Christmas. LOVE this one! It's the first Christmas special, and most of it is just the three Trotters in their flat. Very warm and funny, great turn re: of the three of them it's Grandad who actually has plans outside, then ends with a scene I totally love that's the boys failing to pick up women. Again.
12. Diamonds are for Heather - probably my 3rd or 4th least favorite. Nice in that it showed a side of Del Boy that wanted a family of his own, but just not funny.
11. Rodney Comes Home - curious this was even made, as its just Rodney moping around about his marriage that for some reason was troubled. This should be in the bottom 5 of this list. Worth watching solely for the scene below, which is an all-time Top 5 OFAH scene.
10. Modern Men - one of my all-time episodes that seems to get lost in the shuffle by being in the middle of the brilliant 1996 trilogy that started with Heroes and Villains and ended with Time On Our Hands. They have this ranked way too low. It features a top 3 Only Fools scene - Del gives Rodney a man-to-man chat about how he has to be strong and not cry in front of Cassandra but bursts into tears himself - and the one that best showcases John Sullivan's talent for balancing the funny and the serious. Also fantastic is Rodney unwittingly applying for his own job and being stitched up by Del. Top 5 episode!
9. To Hull and Back - always on people’s Best-of lists, and I’ve never understood why. Sure it’s interesting because it’s a feature-length episode, but the first scene goes on forever, there’s no laugh track, and the whole thing is confusing. There’s no real lightness to it. Maybe my least favorite.
8. Time On Our Hands - way too low on this list. Should be top 3-ish, as the one that should've been the finale, combines the thrilling high of the Trotters finally becoming the millionaires Del said they'd be, and the gut-wrenching moment of leaving their flat for the (supposed) last time and Del Boy having to say that Trotters Independent Traders is no longer in business. Was the perfect ending to the series, still holds the record for most-watched sitcom episode in the UK.
Also amazing is when they nervously arrive at the Nag's Head after the auction, wondering if their friends will still accept them, and even Boycie can only be happy for them.
A wonderful moment when Del and Rodney walk in the pub after officially becoming millionaires pic.twitter.com/MlznnyvBIZ— Derek Trotter (@DelBoy_ofah) March 20, 2018
7. The Frog's Legacy -way too high on this list! Remarkable for only two things: setting up the idea that Freddie the Frog might be Rodney's real father (setting up the payoff line 16 years later in the above Sleepless in Peckham), and Boycie's all-time line here:
"Your mini cab's arrived Albert" 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/bSIrc7Ovup— Only Fools & Horses (@OFAHCentral) February 9, 2019
6. Fatal Extraction - okay now they're just fucking with me. There's no way this should be this high. It's perfectly forgettable, nothing happens and at the end you wonder why they bothered making it.
5. Heroes and Villains - this is classic that belongs pretty much anywhere in the top 5, mostly due to the famous Batman and Robin scene. Personally I've always thought the second part, when they burst into what they think is a costume party but is actually a wake, is even funnier but I can't find any video clips of that.
4. Thicker Than Water - I love this one, though #4 might be a bit too high for me. The final scene when Del Boy slips his father some money before kicking him out again is gut-wrenching. The only one with Del & Rodney’s father, who shows up for the first time after walking out on them decades earlier. Del’s cynicism about him being a changed man and Rodney’s optimism makes perfect sense. Ironically, Reg’s scam was to convince Del Boy he wasn’t his son….when we’d later find out the truth is that Rodney wasn’t.
3. Mother Nature's Son - a pretty good episode with a great premise, but doesn't belong anywhere near the top 3.
2. The Jolly Boys Outing - this is one of my favorites even tho it’s not even close to being the funniest. But there’s something really warm about it, probably due to the beano to Margate giving us an excuse to see so many of the characters together, which is always great.
1. Dates - nice for a funny scene with Del Boy joining the computer dating world, and renowned as the episode in which he meets Raquel, but #1? Really? Wouldn’t be in my top 30.
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